Today I was
on the Kojo Nnamdi show! Live radio is an exhilarating and terrifying experience
– not least because now everything is recorded for the podcast and sent out via
Twitter. Check
out the show here. The topic was teaching about climate change and justice
as a strategy for giving young people hope in the current climate crisis. Since joining Whittle School and Studios,
I have received incredible support for incorporating this topic into our curriculum
and it came together beautifully for our 7th graders this past
fall.
It is known
that the Thursday before winter break is NOT the time to be ambitious. If there is ever time for a movie or a pajama
party, the days leading up to a two-week vacation are it. But at Whittle, we are constantly trying to defy
conventional educational wisdom, so of course, the Thursday before break we
were being ambitious.
Our 7th
graders had been working hard towards their culminating project: a simulation of an Indigenous climate summit
where they would represent the perspectives of Indigenous people from around
the world. The goal was to prepare a set
of resolutions to “send” to the UN outlining the climate challenges global
indigenous groups were facing and the solutions needed to mitigate those challenges.
This project brought together a STEM study of deep time and extinction level events with the examination of early American history through an Indigenous lens that we did in humanities. We always try to incorporate arts education practices and the performative nature of a simulation added that element. We also invited the model UN instructors in to conduct workshops on diplomacy, negotiation, and consensus building.
In groups students researched environmental crises such as desertification, ocean acidification, sea level rise, glacier melt, deforestation, drought, and uranium mining. They also studied the cultures of the Indigenous groups on the front lines of these problems, people whose ways of life are being threatened and who are also fighting back in myriad of admirable ways. They learned to care about caribou, coral, and cancer rates. Now it was time to put all this learning to use.
This project brought together a STEM study of deep time and extinction level events with the examination of early American history through an Indigenous lens that we did in humanities. We always try to incorporate arts education practices and the performative nature of a simulation added that element. We also invited the model UN instructors in to conduct workshops on diplomacy, negotiation, and consensus building.
In groups students researched environmental crises such as desertification, ocean acidification, sea level rise, glacier melt, deforestation, drought, and uranium mining. They also studied the cultures of the Indigenous groups on the front lines of these problems, people whose ways of life are being threatened and who are also fighting back in myriad of admirable ways. They learned to care about caribou, coral, and cancer rates. Now it was time to put all this learning to use.
The greatest
teaching moment of my life came two hours into the simulation. My 12 and 13 year-old students had been
presenting, discussing, and debating vigorously - and they weren’t done
yet. I was prepared to drop it. The majority of the experience was complete,
and I wasn’t sure I could ask for more. But
they weren’t done yet and needed more time.
I offered the free study period scheduled for the next morning. Sure
enough, the next day, without prompting, all 19 of them trooped in, arranged their
tables, and got back to work. Winter
break was mere hours away.
What was happening?
I was experiencing
the holy grail of teaching – an intrinsically motivated classroom. Students who were working hard because they
were invested in the content and the task at hand. Because they felt a sense of purpose. Because what we were doing mattered. I’d
come close before, but that day I saw the real deal.
To whom do I
owe this career defining experience?
Certainly,
my students, who are some of the most talented young people I have had the
privilege to work with. I recently asked
them what they remembered and what they learned:
That many people are now
turning to Indigenous People for help and inspiration when it comes to helping
the world and having more sustainable goals.
~Chiara
I think preparing for
the climate change summit gave a whole lot more information about topics
regarding climate and preparing and researching these topics gave me a lot of
insight into Indigenous perspectives. I had to study solutions for the Inuit
Arctic people's climate problems, so I really also had to research what their
problems were as well. ~Logan
I am also truly inspired by the education model
we are building together at Whittle
School and Studios. Our mission is
to reimagine education through interdisciplinary, experiential, project-based
learning. Not everyone believes this
will work. After that day, I know it
does.
Additionally, I am so grateful for the support of partnerships with awesome organizations located right here in Washington DC. Teaching for Change, Rethinking Schools, and the Zinn Education Project have so many awesome teaching materials like the ones that inspired and informed our study. Local land and water protection groups like Everybody Grows and Anacostia Watershed Society do this work every day and provide hands on access to gardens and rivers. Smithsonian institutions like the National Museum of the American Indian and the National Museum of Natural History are investing in incredible experiences that connect our classrooms to larger conversations and communities.
My job as a teacher of history and the
humanities is to develop deep empathy which includes the ability to
listen. Throughout our study, my
students learned to listen to others who have different and equally valuable
stories to tell. They learned to listen
to the past so that they learn from and do not repeat mistakes. They also learned to listen to marginalized
voices who have the skills and knowledge to turn climate change around and make
this world more just for all.
There is nothing more rigorous and worth
studying than the problems adults haven’t solved yet. Climate change is one of those problems. If you would like to teach about
climate action and justice in your classroom or include Indigenous voices here
are some more resources I found invaluable:
